Tesla to open new Irish service centre in Cork

Forget Mars, Elon Musk's Tesla is Cork-bound after property deal for sales and service centre near Fota Cross. Decathlon had also looked at same building

Fota opportunity: Telsa is due to roll out its second-ever  Irish sales and retail showroom at   Fota Junction/Cobh Cross, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan

CAR company Tesla is to open its second-only service centre for its Irish fleet, having secured a premises and a change of use planning grant near Fota, Cork in a low-key deal; the same unit had previously been eyed up by sports retailer Decathlon.

A Tesla electric vehicle charges at  a  showroom and service center. Photo: Bloomberg

The steadily growing electric car company has been in Ireland since 2017 and has a sales and service centre in Sandyford, Dublin. It sold 1,318 cars in Ireland in 2022, up from 863 registered in 2021, according to SIMI figures.

Up to now, Irish owners of any of the Tesla models have to take or get their cars to Dublin for service/repairs/any other attention — so, the opening of a second centre in the south of the country will be hugely welcomed by drivers.

A Tesla Inc. showroom and service center in Sydney, Australia. Pic Bloomberg

Apart from a slow roll out of Tesla electric vehicle (EV) charge points nationwide, it operates an express service centre in Shannon, and has had a tiny retail/marketing presence at a unit in Douglas Village Shopping Centre.

Developer Seamus Geaney's Edgefield Property Investments Limited sought change of use permission for new  sales and retail showroom at Killacloyne, Cobh Cross, Cork. Picture Dan Linehan

Now, local sources have confirmed that Tesla will invest significantly in a dedicated service station and banks of charge points at Unit A2, Cobh Cross Industrial Estate, near Fota Retail Park, in a building previously occupied by Greenwood Furniture after a quiet lease deal was done with owner, East Cork developer Seamus Geaney.

Ducks in a row: Tesla cars parked at the Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars near Berlin, Germany.

Queries addressed to Tesla’s European press office and Tesla Irish Owners Club on the planned opening in Cork have so far gone unanswered.

Letting agents Cushman & Wakefield who acted in the deal have declined to comment, saying a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) is in force.

Site planning notice, posted in November. Picture Dan Linehan

Mr Geaney has developed widely, including commercial units, at this N25 Killacloyne/Cobh Cross location just a few miles east of the Dunkettle Interchange in recent years, including a multi-million euro 3,000 sq ft Top Oil/Spar service station facing Fota Retail Park and which opened in 2017.

That service station doesn’t have any electric car charge points, for any vehicles, at present. Now, its new neighbour Tesla will bring 13 charge points — but, only for its own fleet of models, which start at prices from around €45,000 after recent international price drops.

Tesla owners can now charge at the new supercharger location at Mahon Point,   among other Cork  locations

Having secured the high-profile car marque as a tenant in c the 15,000 sq ft space, Mr Geaney’s company, Edgefield Property Investments, had sought change of use permission for the old Greenwood building, to be subdivided from sales/warehousing into two for retail units, with permission sought for vehicle sales and leasing outlet in the section A2.

According to the planning file, permission was sought for a sales and leasing unit plus servicing/maintenance garage, public facilities including waiting lounge, meeting rooms, and staff facilities.

External work changes include signage, provision of 13 surface car spaces, with seven EV charging points, secure enclosed service yard area with six more EV charge points, wash bay etc.

Sales of the Tesla Model 3 have been boosting Irish revenues for Tesla, which stood at €43.4 m in 2021 on the back of 863 sales that year, up 10% on 2021.

Sales took an even higher jump in 2022, to 1,318 Teslas in 2022, representing 1.25% of Irish car sales last year, according to official SIMI with the surge in sales also clearly driving the need for more service facilities across the country.

Elon Musk, Tesla CEO, at the opening of the Tesla factory Berlin Brandenburg in Gruenheide, Germany, in March 22, 2022. The CEO claims 3 million Teslas have been sold worldwide

The company manufactures in the US, China, and Germany in “Gigafactories” and CEO Elon Musk last year claimed that more than 3m Tesla cars had been made to date.

Decathlon's Ballymun Dublin store. Is also opening shortly  in Limerick and is scouting locations in Cork and elsewhere.

Meanwhile, it’s known that international sports company Decathlon had previously considered opening at this Cobh Cross building/location.

Decathlon — which opens in Limerick this year with a 5,000 sq m (53,800 sq ft) sports hub and is currently open in Ballymun, Dublin — is still scouting a Cork location, as well as options in Waterford, Galway, and Dublin. It is believed that in the past it also considered Mahon Point as a Cork location.